Myth: Knowledge about Heavenly Mother is not essential for our salvation.

Fact: Because knowledge of Heavenly Mother is essential to our understanding of the Plan of Salvation and our divine potential, knowledge of Her is essential to our salvation and exaltation.

This is a complicated question because members of the Church commonly use the word “salvation” to mean different things. Let’s work through several different definitions of salvation, as explained in True to the Faith.

The first definition of salvation is salvation from physical death. Because of Christ’s Atonement, all people who live, have lived, or will live on the earth will be resurrected. There are no prerequisites or required actions for resurrection. Therefore, not only is knowledge of Heavenly Mother not necessary for this salvation, knowledge of Jesus Christ isn’t either.

The second definition of salvation is a cleansing from sin. The scriptures teach that in order to be cleansed from sin we must “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”1 Because knowledge of Heavenly Mother is not essential to repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, knowledge of Her isn’t necessary for receiving salvation from sin.

The third way the word salvation is used is in reference to salvation from ignorance. Ignorance is not knowing the nature of God, Jesus Christ, the purpose of life, the plan of salvation, and humankind’s eternal potential. Knowledge of Heavenly Mother is essential to understanding the nature of God, the Plan of Salvation, and our divine potential. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God.”2 Because Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother together make up God, it is essential to know not just God the Father but also God the Mother. As then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught, “The purpose of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to help all of the children of God understand their potential and achieve their highest destiny. . . . Our theology begins with heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to be like them.”3 Knowledge of both Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother is essential to understanding our potential as Their children and becoming like Them.

The fourth way salvation is used is to mean eternal life or exaltation. Exaltation is to know our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ, to live with Them, and to become like our Heavenly Parents. Because it is impossible to become like someone we don’t know, we must have knowledge of not just God the Father but also God the Mother to gain salvation and exaltation.

Charlotte Shurtz is a recent graduate of Brigham Young University where she majored in English and minored in Professional Writing and Rhetoric. Charlotte served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Minnesota. In her free time, she is a poet and bookmaker. Her favorite animal is the elephant, and she has a large elephant collection.